The Bioplastics Research Institute reported that recently, Element Drive (Hangzhou) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. revealed to the media that its PiX ™ The first phase of biodegradation is expected to produce 30000 tons annually and be put into use after the Spring Festival in 2026.
Element Drive is an incubation enterprise of West Lake University, founded by Zhang Kechun, a professor and synthetic biology expert at West Lake University. The chairman of the company, Liu Minhao, is a student of Shi Yigong, the president of Xihu University. Liu Minhao has served as an assistant to the president and other positions.
PiX ™ Biodegradable materials, initially driven by elements, were officially released to the public in October 2024, and their research and development process can be traced back to the beginning of the company's establishment. In 2021, Element Drive was established under the key incubation of the New Quality Productivity Cultivation Platform at the Future Industry Research Center of West Lake University. Since then, it has been committed to technological breakthroughs in bio based biodegradable materials, and PiX degradable plastics are one of its core research and development achievements.
The company relies on its independently built MiNT X Platform research and development platform, and with the predictable design of enzyme engineering and metabolic pathways, has successfully developed PiX degradable plastics with a new chemical structure after years of research and development. In October 2024, Element Drive publicly released PiX material products and their properties, which are biodegradable, recyclable, and possess high strength, high heat resistance, and high toughness. Using renewable biomass as the production raw material, they have controllable degradability and controllable cost.
The picture shows a biodegradable pen holder sampled with PiX new material
Since its launch, PiX materials have rapidly explored applications in multiple fields. At present, through the research and development of modified technology, PiX material can be used to produce disposable products such as express bags, shopping bags, agricultural films, straws, tableware, etc.
In the field of agricultural plastic film, in response to the problems of traditional plastic film pollution of land, uncontrollable degradation rate or high cost of existing biodegradable plastic film, the element driven use of PiX material to produce plastic film can flexibly adjust its degradation cycle according to crop growth cycle, geographical environment and other factors. The ultra-thin design not only reduces costs, but also ensures good soil moisture retention and water-saving ability. In the 2024 cotton planting control experiment in Changji, Xinjiang, cotton covered with PiX biodegradable film had about 1.5 more cotton bolls per plant compared to using traditional PE film or other biodegradable film, which effectively verified its practicality and advantages in agricultural production.
In the field of express packaging, express bags made of PiX material have performance, cost advantages, and environmental friendliness. In 2024, they have reached a cooperation agreement with Vipshop and will soon be put into use in Vipshop's e-commerce logistics, providing an important practical platform for the large-scale application of PiX products.
Professor Zhang Kechun once introduced to Xinhua News Agency reporters that PiX material has low cost and high performance, and its future application fields are actually full of great imagination. With the emergence of new materials with better performance and lower cost, many companies are actively seeking element driven business connections. In addition to plastic bottles, plastic tubes, and sportswear, PiX materials can also be applied in a wider range of fields such as white goods, healthcare, automobiles, cosmetics, and more.
In 2025, Element Drive will continue to make efforts in promoting the industrialization of PiX materials. The newly built 150000 ton biodegradable material project has landed in Jiande, and the first phase of the project will be completed by the end of 2025, with a planned production capacity of 30000 tons. Meanwhile, on March 19, 2025, Element Drive and Yangzhou Huitong Technology Co., Ltd. established a strategic partnership to establish Element Huitong New Materials (Yangzhou) Co., Ltd., which will accelerate the mass production of PiX materials.
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